The Latibaer chronicles
by KnuxZimRyoko15
Summary: Robbie manages to bring Sportacus from the past to the future, but he isn't what everyone expects.... AN: Sorry it's so late! enjoy the last chapter!
1. Chapter 1

It was gonna be a TERRIFIC day.

Ziggy could just FEEL it.

He opened his eyes sleepily, and sat up, stretching as far as his little arms could reach. Smiling, he leaped out of bed and darted for the front door. Today was the day they had all been waiting for; Sportacus had promised to take them in his airship and head for the mountains to go camping. Ziggy hadn't been able to contain his excitement at the prospect. He'd NEVER been in an airship before! Giddy already, he ran as fast as he could to town square, where the airship had landed (a first for everyone; It was strange to see the massive ship on the ground). Everyone was already up and ready to go, with Stephanie talking excitedly about the trip to Stingy and Pixel. Trixie was busy packing up the last of her suitcase, while the mayor was instructing Sportacus, once again, to PLEASE be careful and keep an eye on the children. Ziggy giggled at that. No one in town was more responsible than Sportacus! EVERYONE knew that!

Stephanie waved at Ziggy happily. "Come on Ziggy! We were gonna leave without you!"

"Oh no you weren't!" Ziggy pouted. "If you did, I'd never share my candy with you again."

She laughed and ruffled his hair. "Aw Ziggy, I was only joking."

Pixel piped up, "Yeah, even if we DID leave you, we could just go back in time and get you anyway." The others groaned loudly, and Pixel frowned. "No really! We could!"

"Pixel, will you shut it about that stupid time machine?" Trixie stuck her tongue out at him. "Time machines don't exist and WON'T exist for hundreds of millions of years!"

Ziggy was confused. "What time machine? What did I miss?"

Stephanie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, Pixel got here before me, and was going on about how he made some kind of time machine to Sportacus. It really doesn't exist though, he just gets so excited about this sort of thing." She looked over at the orange-haired boy sadly. "It's really too bad, too. A time machine would've been a lot of fun."

Meanwhile, Mayor Meanswell was STILL reading off the list of precautions to Sportacus. "And make sure all of them brush their teeth and floss, Stephanie's allergic to raspberries so PLEASE be careful of that, Ziggy's mom asked that you tuck Ziggy in before he goes to sleep, and just make sure none of them get lost, alright?"

Sportacus laughed heartily. "Don't WORRY, mayor. I'll take good care of the kids. After all, we're just going to be gone for a few days. What could possibly go wrong?"

Milford just shook his head. "A lot. They're kids, after all. They can get into a LOT of trouble."

"They're very good kids. They'll be fine." The tall hero patted the mayor on the back and walked over to Stephanie and Ziggy, who were arguing the existence of time travel with Pixel again. He shook his head, and smiled. "Pixel, why do you want to travel through time so badly?"

"Because!" Pixel gave them all a look as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "Can you imagine what we could learn from our future selves? We could see what problems we have and be able to fix it in the past!" He smiled wider, totally engrossed in his own topic. " OR, we could go back in time and fix PAST problems so they never happen!!"

Somewhere on the outskirts of town, a certain villain's ears perked up.

Sportacus just shook his head. "Pixel, making mistakes and learning from them is a very important part of life! If no one made mistakes, then we'd never learn, would we?" Begrudgingly, Pixel shook his head.

Stephanie tilted her head to the side. "But Sportacus, you NEVER make mistakes!"

Sportacus laughed. "Of course I do! I'm not perfect. I've made plenty of mistakes, but I always learn from them."

"What were you like when you were a kid, Sportacus?" asked Stingy (who was finished labeling all his clothes "MINE").

That took the elf by surprise. "M-Me? When I was a kid?" He scratched his head for a second, and then frowned slightly. "That's not…really important, Stingy. Just trust me, I wasn't perfect." Brightening quickly, he rubbed his hands together. "Well! Should we head out?" The kids let out a cheer and darted over to the airship, eager to get the trip underway. With a last good-bye to the Mayor and Lazytown, the airship took off and soared off towards the mountains.

-----

Robbie couldn't have asked for a better idea.

"A TIME machine?" He fairly leaped for joy. "This is TERRIFIC! I'll just go back in time and erase Sportakook from the timeline FOREVER!!" His voice echoed in his dingy cave, and the villain did a small victory dance. It was too EASY! Pixie or whatever-his-name-is was gone; his house totally unguarded, and the time machine was as good as his. He darted as fast as he dared out of his lair, sneaking towards Pixel's house. WAY too easy. He didn't even have to search hard to find it once in the room. It was a large door-like device with just a simple time dial on the side, and a lever on the side to activate the device. Robbie smiled wickedly and set the time dial for roughly 40 years in the past (he had heard that stupid elf say once that he was about 76 years old, which meant in human years he was 25 or so. Stupid elf and his wacky aging process). "Perfect!" cried Robbie, as he pulled the lever. The machine sprung to life with a loud WHOOSH, and the doorframe filled up with a glowing pink and green liquid-like substance. "I'll just go back in time and stop little Sportacus from ever becoming a hero…." He paused. That MAY be a little difficult, knowing the sporty little jumping bean. "Hmm… well, no matter what, I'm going to stop him!! No matter what it takes!!" He turned and faced the doorway, took a deep breath, and jumped right in.

"GERONIMO!!"

---

When he finally landed, it became pretty obvious that he was nowhere NEAR Lazytown anymore.

The land Robbie found himself in was a vast green plain, lush with life, and beautiful blue-tinted mountains in the distance. The whole place seemed almost unreal, and….

Magical.

"Where in the name of chocolate AM I?", he wondered out loud. He looked around, trying to see something, ANYTHING, that he would recognize. Robbie spotted a small pack of what looked like children off to the side of the time machine, gazing at him in wonder. They looked like children, but their ears were all pointed. That's when it clicked in Robbie's head: He made it. This must be the island in the Northern Sea that Sportacus was from; the land of the elves and hidden people. Robbie smiled and headed over to the elfin children, who backed up a little from him. "Hello little ones", he said in a sugary-sweet voice. "Can any of you tell me where to find a little elf named Sportacus?"

"Sportacus?" a little girl elf walked up, and nodded. Her accent made her hard to understand, and Robbie made a mental note to tease Sportacus about his accent later. The little girl looked up at him and frowned. "Ja, Ég vita hann."

He looked at her funny. "What?"

She smiled and took his hand. "This way." She tugged him along, surprising the villain with her strength. She couldn't have been more than seven! Eventually, they reached a small town nestled between two hills, with even MORE elves! Robbie hoped upon hope that they weren't ALL like Sportakook. The town itself was a beautiful picturesque place, full of small wooden buildings and intricate carvings, and Robbie would've stopped to look were it not for the mini she-Hercules who had a firm grip on his hand. She pointed to a large cabin up on the hill, and gestured to him. "Íþróttaálfurinn," she chirped happily, and nudged him towards the lodge. "Sportacus in there, but he no good." She stuck out her little tongue. "Hann slæmur." When she noticed that Robbie didn't understand, she said, "Bad. He bad."

"Bad?" That was NOT the reaction he was expecting. Sportacus, bad? Maybe he WASN'T in the right place after all. He started up the hill, looking back every so often at the little girl.

This whole PLACE was nuts…

----

When he FINALLY reached the top, a very strange sight met Robbie Rotten's eyes.

An older looking elf in a rich brown and yellow outfit was chasing a blonde-haired elf boy around, and looking extremely angry with the sandy-haired youth. He was shouting in that strange language that the girl had been speaking, but for some reason Robbie could understand them now. It has to be this place, he thought and shuddered. The instant he found Sportacus, he was getting out of there…

"Get back here, you whelp!" shouted the elder elf, brandishing a willow whip in one hand. The boy just laughed and leaped nimbly to the side, darting over and into a tree before the man could grab him. The older of the two swore under his breath. "I'm serious Sportacus, if you do not shape up and take your responsibilities seriously, then you'll let the entire family down!"

Robbie nearly fainted.

THAT was Sportacus?

That snot-nosed little brat, making faces at a superior and LAUGHING?

COULDN'T be!!

The boy who was supposed to be Sportacus just groaned. "Pabbi, it's always 'responsibility, responsibility, responsibility'!! What if I don't WANNA?" he stuck his tongue out, causing the older elf to grow red in the face.

"Sportacus, do you even WANT to be Number 10?"

Little Sportacus just rolled his eyes. "What if I DON'T?"

Robbie's eyes nearly jumped out of his sockets. He…. Didn't… WANT to be a hero? This had to be a trick of some kind. His luck had NEVER been this good before. Utterly frustrated, the older elf trudged off, and Little Sportacus laughed, swinging back down to the ground.

Only then did the young elf notice Robbie.

"Who are YOU?"

"Me?" Oh great, now he could SPEAK their language?! What was WRONG with this place?! "Oh, I'm just….I'm…." Robbie stuck out his hand. "Hi, I'm Robbie Rotten." He felt utterly stupid for introducing himself to his future mortal enemy, but the boy seemed unphased and grasped the outstretched hand eagerly.

"Hi, I'm Sportacus!" He smiled up at Robbie, and Robbie got a strange shiver down his spine. This was his enemy…. He could do ANYTHING with this little boy, and it would effect the Sportacus he knew….

"Tell me Sportacus…" He said slowly. "Do you like candy?"

The little boy stuck out his tongue. "I do, but it makes my stomach hurt and I fall asleep for a long time. I'm not allowed to have it." His face brightened. "But I love pastries! Sticky and gooey and…." He smiled mischievously. "And the best part is, they're not good for you."

WAY TOO DANG EASY.

Robbie rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Well, I know a place where you can have all the unhealthy food you want and no one will tell you no." Little Sportacus grinned widely and squeaked in excitement. Robbie offered his hand again. "Here, just follow me."

"Let's go let's go let's go!" Even as a kid, Sportacus had been hyper. Robbie rubbed one of his temples with his free hand, and lead the little elf over to the time machine. He heard little Sportakook gasp in awe when the machine started up, and couldn't stop the little bundle of energy from just jumping right in. Robbie sighed and followed.

His luck had better hold out….

-----

A/N: I have had this idea bouncing around my head for about a week. So far, I like how it's going.

Next chapter will be up soon!!


	2. Chapter 2

Sometimes, when he was by himself, he would just let his mind wander back to his home.

Back to the green hills filled with music, back to the bonfires and the light-footed dances across the marsh, back to his father and the ones he'd grown up with.

Try as he might to deny it, Sportacus was homesick.

Being out in the mountains didn't help that much. Even with the kids to keep him company, the Lazytown Mountains were just too much like those that grew from his beloved island in the north, and Sportacus's heart yearned to go back. They needed him, of course, and that's why he stayed. He sighed quietly and gazed out over the valley again. The sun was just barely peeking over the edge of the horizon, and the earth felt alive all around him. As an elf, he was in tune to the mother earth, and Sportacus relished the stillness of her music. A slight pinch under his hat warned him that his ears were very cramped, and after looking around quickly to make sure the kids didn't see, he took his hat off to free them for a few minutes. Sportacus's face fell. It pained him to pretend to be human around the people of Lazytown, and to not share the joys that elfin magic could bring, but his father had staunchly warned him about the attitude of the world towards "their kind" nowadays. Hiding his ears was the biggest problem. Not only did it hurt, as they were rather long for his age (a sign that he was healthy and strong), but it also made him rather deaf, even with better hearing than most. And he had let it slip more than once, ESPECIALLY around Robbie. Sportacus grimaced. Why Robbie had decided to take a walk that fateful morning was beyond him, but the cat was officially out of the bag with Robbie, and Sportacus was very lucky that he hadn't said anything (though he DID like teasing the hero about his long pointy ears).

The kids were starting to wake up, and Sportacus quickly shoved his hat back on, flipped over to the campsite, and began preparing a fire for their breakfast. It was their last day up there before heading back, and he wanted to make sure they all got a good, healthy breakfast before they went home. Unfortunately, it had rained the night before, and the woodpile was completely soaked. Well, thought Sportacus, they're not up yet. I could chance it. He grabbed a few blocks of wood, put them in the fire pit, and held his hand out. In an instant, the wood was ablaze and crackling merrily. He chuckled quietly to himself. Fire was such a simple spell, even the smallest elf could do it, but it was the first time in months he had used his magic for anything, and it was a welcome relief.

"How….did…you…DO that!?"

Now, normally Sportacus's highest jump was between seven and ten feet straight up in the air. This time, however, he cleared a good 14 feet. Whirling around, he saw an awestruck Ziggy staring at him, mouth agape. For once, the hero had no idea what to say. He stammered for a bit, then grinned sheepishly. "Um… Magic?" Curse his inability to tell a lie.

Ziggy's eyes widened. "Really?! Sportacus, you know magic?! Ooh, ooh, teach me!"

He laughed nervously. What to tell him? Well, he could always just tell the truth and see what would happen. No, Sportacus shook his head. That was a BAD idea. Thinking quickly, he came up with a suitable story. "N-No, Ziggy. See, I have this…device…. In my wristband…." Not…. TOO much of a lie…. "And it…. You know…"

"And it makes FIRE?!" Ziggy bought it. "WOW Sportacus, that's AMAZING!! And here I thought it was magic." Sportacus sighed, relieved. Thank the gods for little children. Ziggy had, of course, run off to wake the others and tell them of his "magical" wristband that made fire.

Within ten minutes, as Sportacus had predicted, Ziggy's attention had turned elsewhere, and he was furiously devouring a lump of taffy while waiting for everyone else to get packed for the ride home. Pixel had been interested in how his wristbands worked for a while, but Sportacus had insisted that they get going the INSTANT breakfast was over, and he had eaten his in record time. Something was off with the hero, and everyone could feel it. He spent most of the ride home in the pilot's seat just staring off into the clouds.

The kids were understandably upset.

"You should talk to him, Stephanie", Stingy suggested quietly.

"Why me?"

"Because! You're his favorite, that's why!!" Trixie pushed her towards the sullen hero, and smirked. "Get going, Pinky."

Stephanie walked cautiously over to Sportacus and tapped him on the shoulder. The hero turned around fast, and gave her a less than happy smile. "Is something wrong, Stephanie?"

"Well… We're kind of worried about you." She sat down next to him and looked up into his eyes. "You're never been this sad before, Sportacus. What's the matter?"

He sighed sadly and looked away. "To tell the truth, Stephanie, I'm….well… I'm homesick."

Homesick? Sportacus had never talked about his home before! "No WONDER you're sad!" She gave him a reassuring hug around the middle. "I get homesick too, you know. But I call my mom every other day, and that helps. Can you write home or anything?"

Sportacus smiled softly. "Well, yes, I can. But it just takes so long to hear from Pa---" He coughed. "P-Papa… that it seems like he never gets my letters."

Stephanie hugged tighter. "I'm sure they do, and they miss you just as much." She smiled. "Now, let's make that frown go away!" She leaped on him, and started tickling the hero mercilessly. Sportacus howled with laughed before retaliating and eventually pinned Stephanie down lightly. The other kids just shook their heads. This sort of thing was a normal occurrence, and everyone had just gotten used to it.

Suddenly, Sportacus stopped and rubbed his head, grimacing. Stephanie gave him a puzzled look. "Sportacus? What's wrong?"

"I have no idea…" He looked as confused as everyone else onboard. He shook his head. "I just got this strange feeling that something changed…."

"It was probably nothing."

----

"WOW!"

In hindsight, it was probably NOT a good idea to ever ever EVER give little Sportacus any sort of soda from now on, especially the caffeinated kind. And Robbie thought controlling his adult counterpart was hard… The little ball of energy was running around Robbie's underground laboratory and wanting to touch absolutely EVERYTHING. He had gotten hold of at least three different costumes, and was prancing around as a gorilla-pirate-faerie, soda still firmly in hand. The instant cake maker had been an instant hit with the little elf, and frosting still lingered on the sides of his smiling mouth. Wasn't he allergic to sugar?, Robbie almost wondered out loud. Chasing after the brat was more of a chore than he had anticipated, though admittedly he had let his guard down after everything had started going so well for him.

At LEAST he was eating junk food….

"Will you sit still for a second?!" The harshness of Robbie's voice startled the child, and he sat down obediently… on Robbie's fuzzy orange chair. "No no no, not THERE!" Robbie snatched him up and placed him on a nearby stool, then brushed off the leftover Sportacrumbs on the beloved piece of furniture. He sat down and stared at his new little companion, who had turned his four-second attention span to his soda pop again. Robbie didn't get it. How could such a deliciously lazy and unhealthy little boy turn into Sportacus the champion of everything healthy? Truth be told, Robbie knew very little about his enemy, besides the fact that he was a mythical being that SHOULDN'T exist, but did. He leaned forward slightly. "Sportacus? Who was that man who was mad at you?"

The little boy wrinkled his nose. "Oh, that's my Pabbi…. My dad. He was trying to get me to practice my flips, but I already know them so why bother?" Robbie noticed the sad look in the boy's eyes, and Little Sportacus wiped his eyes furiously. "I don't wanna be number ten, Robbie. I just don't!"

"Why not?"

"Because!!" The tears found their way out now. "Because then all I'd ever do is save people and travel far away and never see my family and my son will be lonely, that's why!" His little shoulders shook, and he buried his face in the sleeve of his outfit. "Pabbi always tells me that it's an honor to be Íþróttaálfurinn, but I just want to be ME!" Without warning, he darted over and latched onto Robbie's middle, crying heavily.

Robbie was totally lost.

No one had ever hugged him, NEEDED him like this.

So… Sportacus had never had a say in the matter. He was a hero whether he wanted to be or not, from the very beginning. Robbie found that his hate for the hero melted away, and he suddenly felt HORRIBLE for the elf. What would he have been like if he had his own life? Tears of his own started to sting at the edge of his eyes, and he found himself hugging the little child back, patting him gently on the back. "There there, Sportacus…" An idea popped into Robbie's head, and he smiled. "Hey, Tell you what. I'll make sure that you never have to become number ten, would you like that?"

Little Sportacus looked up, and wiped his eyes. "Y-Yes, I would." He smiled and hugged Robbie even tighter. "Thank you Robbie, you're a good friend."

Friend….

He was someone's friend….

----

A/N: Short, I know, but I think it gets the plot moving rather nicely, don't you?


	3. Chapter 3

There he was again.

Flipping and smiling as if nothing was wrong.

Robbie knew better now. He knew that Sportacus wanted more, FAR more, and had dreams and wishes that had never been realized. It was really sad.

For an elf, Sportacus was surprisingly human.

Robbie looked over to his new little charge, fast asleep on the little bed that Robbie had made for him. Robbie smiled slightly. He really enjoyed being in charge of little Sportacus, despite how hard he tried to hide it. He usually couldn't stand kids, but this one was different. He didn't know what it was about the miniature elf that he liked so much, whether it was how much the little boy could eat or how he usually latched onto Robbie's middle and smiled up at him, but Robbie couldn't believe that Sportacus could've ever been so... WONDERFUL.

Robbie sighed and headed for the entrance to his den. He couldn't sleep, not since little Sporty had confessed his reasons for not being a hero. He had WANTED to be someone different; Sportacus had wanted a life of his own, but had been forced to be a hero, and therefore, was forced to be Robbie's enemy. What would've happened if they had met under different circumstances? Would they have been friends? Robbie shuddered slightly as he walked in the sunlight, heading towards where he had seen Sportacus last.

He REALLY needed to talk to the elf…

----

"1,268… 1,269…. 1270…"

Of all the exercises, Sportacus loved push-ups the best. They were awfully therapeutic, and he always did them when he had a lot on his mind.

Like now, for instance.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone haywire somewhere in the town, and it had to do with him somehow. SOMETHING had changed, but he couldn't figure out what it was. On top of that, Stingy had almost discovered Sportacus's secret. The little boy had decided, out of the blue, that he wanted Sportacus's hat and had tried to grab it off. It had been funny for a few minutes, and Sportacus had played around with Stingy and both had laughed, but then Stingy had grabbed hold of the top of it and yanked. The hat had ALMOST come off, and the children had witnessed an event that hadn't happened before.

Sportacus had panicked.

He sighed as he went down for his 3,000th push-up. It was more than a little embarrassing that he had reacted like that; He had screamed and pulled the hat tightly over his ears, clinging to it for dear life. Stingy had been stunned, and the others had just gasped at his actions. He had tried to explain it away as the hat getting stuck on his hair, but Stephanie had given him a look. She was smart, and he knew it; It was only a matter of time before she started asking questions and figuring things out on her own. How would she react if she knew he wasn't human? Sportacus stopped mid-push. What if she decided to never talk to him again? He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice someone standing behind him.

"Hey Sporta-flop."

He looked up to see Robbie looking at him with… pity? Was that PITY? He was smiling at the blue elf sadly, and lazily sat himself down next to him. Sportacus was confused. "Robbie? What's wrong?"

Robbie looked away. "Well… I need to know something, Elfy. Are you… happy?"

"What?"

"Are you happy? You know, with your life?" Robbie's gray eyes bored into his ice-blue ones, searching for something. Sportacus was utterly confused.

"Robbie, of COURSE I'm happy!" He smiled. "I'm always happy when I'm healthy, and helping people in trouble!"

"I don't believe you."

That caught Sportacus off-guard. "What? Wh-Why not?"

He could've sworn he heard Robbie sniffle. "Because…. Well, let's just say that I found out what you were like when you were younger, and you were totally different."

Well, that wasn't what Sportacus had expected. How did Robbie find out? "Robbie…. You have to understand, people can change. I changed when I grew up."

Robbie frowned. "So, you gave up all the dreams that you had and became a hero you didn't even want to be, is that it?"

Sportacus scowled at Robbie. "How do you know all of this?" Robbie just shrugged and looked away. "I mean it Robbie, I didn't tell any of that to anyone. How do you know?"

He could see a little hint of mischief creep back into his foe's eyes. "Let's just say a little elf told me."

Just then, Pixel came running past. "My time machine is broken! I can't shut it off!"

"Time machine?" Sportacus paled. Oh no… It was impossible! He whirled around to face Robbie, who was grinning like a madman. "Robbie… you DIDN'T…"

"Oh, but I did."

Sportacus had never been one to get angry, but he found himself FURIOUS at his rival. "Robbie, if anything happens to that little boy, it happens to ME. And if anything happens to ME, I'll make sure it happens to YOU." Robbie, totally surprised and frightened by Sportacus's outburst, nodded frantically. The hero frowned and grabbed Robbie's arm. "Come on, you're going to show me EXACTLY where you put me."

------

It was official.

He was BORED.

Little Sportacus had played every board game, watched every video, and eaten all the cake he could handle. He groaned and looked towards the door again. When was Robbie coming back?! Things were no fun without his new best buddy… Sportacus pouted. What was out there, anyway? It had been dark when they had arrived in the future, so he hadn't seen what this "Lazytown" looked like. He had been too excited about being in the future anyway, asking Robbie to tell him all about it. He had mentioned something about a "stupid blue flippy hero", but hadn't gone into detail. Lil Sporty sighed, and headed for the door. He wanted to see the future REALLY badly. It had to be better than his own time, anyway.

Opening the hatch, he peered out. It was unlike any town he'd ever seen! Everything was painted brightly, there was a strange-looking dwarf in a cart that moved by itself, and a really bright pink something was jumping rope in a stone courtyard. Sportacus grinned and leaped out into the sunshine, then did a flip off of the platform, making sure no one saw. It wasn't that he didn't LIKE flips; he just didn't want anyone to tell his Pabbi that he was exercising. Then he remembered where he was, and laughed. His Pabbi was 40 years back, and he was safe. A few back handsprings brought him over to the pink thing, which revealed itself to be a girl! Sportacus watched her for a while. What kind of girl was it? She didn't LOOK like an elf, and her ears weren't pointed (like his were), but she sure had enough energy to be one. He also noticed that she was really, REALLY pretty.

Stephanie stopped jumping and looked around. She had the strangest feeling that someone was watching her, and a chill went up her spine. Trying to ignore it, she went back to jumping. A twig snapped, startling her and made her trip up on the jump rope. Stephanie groaned and held her knee. "Who's there?" she called out nervously.

"Ert þú meiða?"

She looked up at the source of the voice. A strange little boy, roughly her age, was holding out his hand and grimacing slightly. He had said SOMETHING, but she didn't know what. She gave him a strange look, and he held his hand closer to her. "Ert þú meiða?"

"Wh-What?" She took his hand and he helped her up. It was only then that Stephanie noticed his ears. She gasped. They weren't ears like hers. They were long and pointed at the ends, which meant that he was… "Are…Are you an elf?"

He cocked his head to one side. "Hvaða?"

She spoke slower. "Can you understand me? Do you speak English?"

"A-Aengliss?" The little boy scratched his head and shook his head. "Nei." He looked down at his feet, then suddenly grabbed her hand, smiling.

"What are you DOING?!" Stephanie tried to pull away, but he held firm.

"Halda á enn." He reached into his pocket and took out a round, sparkling thing, which looked suspiciously like Sportacus's crystal. He held it to her forehead for a few seconds, eyes closed, then put it back into his pocket, letting go of her hand. "There, that should be better."

She was utterly confused. "Who ARE you? Wh-WHAT are you? What was that? What just happened?!"

The little boy laughed and put a hand over her mouth. "You say "what" a lot. "Why" is better, don't you think?" He stood up straight. "My name is Sportacus, what's your name?"

She just stared at him, then laughed. "Alright, now I KNOW I'm dreaming." He frowned, but she didn't notice. "Look, you can't be Sportacus, because….I KNOW Sportacus! He's an adult, not a kid, and he's CERTAINLY not an elf. Elves don't exist, anyway."

He crossed his arms and glared at her. "Oh REALLY? Well, what do you think I am?"

"You're a dream I'm having." Stephanie smiled slightly. "I must've fallen asleep while playing jump rope."

The little elf grinned mischievously at her. "Alright, if I'm a dream, then this shouldn't hurt." Faster than she could react, he shot his hand out and pinched her arm HARD.

She yelped, and pulled away. "OUCH!! Jeez, why did you do that?!" She rubbed her arm, trying to dull the pain and calm herself down at the same time. An ELF… a real live ELF was in Lazytown! He was giving her an "I-told-you-so" look, and she stuck her tongue out at him. Who was this guy? Certainly wasn't Sportacus. Granted, Stephanie knew next to nothing about her hero's past, but he couldn't have been THIS naughty and rude!

"Believe me now?" He laughed.

"Alright…so…. You ARE an elf, and I'm not dreaming. I'll give you that." She walked over to him and studied his ears again. They were so WEIRD… She shook her head. "But I don't believe you're Sportacus, because he's not an elf."

"How do you know?"

"Because!" Stephanie chuckled a little. "Because I know him very well, and his ears---"

"Are always covered with his hat."

She whirled around. Robbie had come through the gate and was staring at the two of them. The little boy beamed and ran over to Robbie, hugging him around the middle. "There you are!!" Robbie reprimanded the little elf, like he was his father. "I've been looking everywhere for you…"

And Stephanie thought she was confused BEFORE… "Robbie? Who is this?"

"This?" The villain picked up the boy, who giggled and hugged him again. "Why, this little bundle of happiness is little Sportacus, of course." Here eyes widened, and she stumbled back. Robbie just smirked. "Oh that's RIGHT… He didn't tell you, did he? Tsk tsk, naughty Sporta-flop. Keeping things from his friends…" The little boy giggled.

"I---I don't believe you… Sportacus wouldn't do that!!" Her head reeled. He couldn't be an elf! Could he?

-----

A/N: Kind of an odd place to stop it, but who cares?! YAY FOR UPDATES!!.


	4. Chapter 4

It had finally happened.

Stephanie stood in front of him, arms crossed, mouth in a frown. Just STARING at him, and waiting for an answer. He sighed. Just because he'd known that it was going to happen didn't make it easier.

"Well? Are you an elf or not, Sportacus?" Her voice wavered slightly, and Sportacus could hear the expectancy in it. She wanted to believe…. She really did….

Sighing, the hero lowered himself to his knees and looked at the little girl, unsure of what to say. Should he lie? No, he reprimanded himself. Not to Stephanie. Sportacus smiled weakly and opened his mouth, just to close it again. Her face fell slightly. "You… ARE an elf, aren't you?"

He nodded slightly, and took off his trademark hat. "I…. Yes, Stephanie, I am."

Her eyes widened at the sight of his long ears (who were very grateful for getting out of the hat). She reached out a hand, then recoiled slightly. He smiled and guided her hand to them. "Go on, it's ok. Touch. They're real." She ran her fingers up and down the length of the points, mouth agape. Sportacus giggled slightly, and wiggled them. Stephanie laughed, then frowned.

"Sportacus, why didn't you tell us? Why did you hide them?"

"Well… People don't believe in elves anymore." He looked away. "They don't want to believe that magic exists. My Pabbi told me that it would be too dangerous to tell people, because they're so used to thinking that 'our kind' are just myths."

She thought about that for a moment, then hugged Sportacus tightly. "Sportacus, you're our friend. We love you no matter WHAT you are." Stephanie smiled at him. "You were my hero before I knew, and you're STILL my hero." He hugged back tightly, relieved. She poked him suddenly. "Now that I know, though…." Stephanie grabbed his hat. "You aren't allowed to hide anymore. The tips of your ears are all red." He grinned sheepishly, and carefully put his hat back on around his ears.

Stephanie was, predictably, full of questions. Where did he come from? What was his village like? Did he know magic? And Sportacus, who usually never talked about his past, found himself telling her all about his home and their traditions. He even showed her some of his magic, a simple air spell that lifted her off the ground for a minute or two. She had screamed at first, then found that flying was every bit as fun as she had imagined. Stephanie shrieked with laughter as she dipped and twirled, landing safely in the strong arms of her hero. She was soon called away for lunch, but Sportacus caught her jumping and twirling her way back to her house, humming one of the folk songs he had taught her. Sportacus had never been more relieved. She accepted him! Perhaps the rest of the town would be the same…

Just then, Robbie ran up in a panic. "Sportakook!" The villain grabbed his shoulders, eyes wide. "Have you seen Sportaboy? I can't find him anywhere!"

"You LOST him?!"

"No I didn't lose him!" Robbie sniffed indignantly. "I just can't find him!"

Sportacus narrowed his eyes. "Robbie, that means you lost him." He sighed and looked around. "Alright, alright…. Come on, we'll split up. You look in the north side of town, and I'll take the south. Who knows how much trouble he could cause…."

----

Pixel had never been so upset at a piece of machinery before.

"Come on you stupid time machine, STOP SPARKING!!" He whacked it with his wrench angrily, and sat down next to it, grumbling. What had happened? It had worked fine before his trip… Pixel rubbed his temples. The stupid thing hadn't worked right all week. He had sent home more than ten different very confused people from various points in history, and his room was STILL a mess from those Mongolians yesterday. What worried him the most was how much of the time stream was getting messed with because of this. What if he erased Lazytown forever?!

"I never should've created you!" Pixel yelled at it, and threw a hunk of metal, striking the side of the gaping doorway. The machine sprung to life, spewing something out of its portal. Pixel frowned. "Oh GREAT…. Who came out this time, Attila the Hun?" He turned around. "Alright, whoever's there, come on out. I'll get you back home."

What he saw knocked him for a loop.

A little boy, roughly his age, stood up from the mess of his room and looked around. He was very thin, dressed in a deep purple vest and pants, and his deep black hair was slicked back into a mock pompadour. His light grey eyes darted around nervously as he got used to his surroundings. Pixel rubbed his eyes. "I can't believe it…. Robbie Rotten?"

The little boy jumped. "How… How do you know my name?" He backed away from Pixel, frightened. "Where am I? H-How'd I get here? Who are YOU!?"

Pixel held out his hand out. "Hey… it's ok. I'm Pixel." His head swam. THIS was Robbie?! He looked like a frightened Chihuahua!! " Listen, I'm gonna get you home, ok?" The little villain sniffled and nodded slightly, taking Pixel's outstretched hand nervously. Suddenly, Pixel's door burst open and a little boy in blue bounded in.

"Wow! What is THIS place?!" The little boy looked around excitedly and jumped up on Pixel's couch to get a better look. In the process, he scared the living daylights out of little Robbie. He screamed and ducked underneath Pixel's bed, whimpering pathetically. Curious, the little elf peeked under the bed and smiled at the quivering boy. "Hallo! What's YOUR name?"

"Alright, that's IT!" Pixel grabbed both of them and threw them out of his room. "Get out and STAY out till I finish fixing my machine, got it?!" With that, he slammed the door.

Little Sportacus looked over to his companion and smiled again. "You never answered my question. Who are you?"

The little boy puffed out his chest and said, "I'm Robert Montgomery Rotten the second, heir to the Rotten estate and owner of a pony." He eyed the blue elf skeptically. "Who are YOU?"

The little elf beamed. "I'm Sportacus! It's nice to meet you Robbie. You know, you have the same name as my other friend!" He laughed. "Funny coincidence, huh?"

Robbie Jr. nodded slowly. He then noticed Sportacus's ears. "Hey, why are your ears all pointy?"

Sporty touched his ears. "These? Well, I'm an elf!" He beamed proudly.

"REALLY?"

He nodded. "All my life!"

Robbie Jr. gasped. "Wow! That's amazing!" He looked down. "There's no elves where I live."

"But we're everywhere!" Little Sportacus nodded emphatically. "You just gotta look." The two stared at each other for a while, then Sportacus grabbed Robbie's hand. "Hey, you wanna play with me?"

Robbie thought about that for a while, then smiled back. "Sure! You're it!" He took off running, with Sportacus in hot pursuit, both laughing wildly and forgetting their troubles for a little while.

Meanwhile, the grown up Robbie held his head and groaned. "Woah… S-Something just changed. I KNOW it…"

Sportacus nodded. "I know… Something BIG this time, too." He faced Robbie. "We have to hurry, before anything else changes."

---

Little Robbie had never met anyone like Sportacus.

He was so full of energy, bounding around, pulling handstands and flips and running faster than anyone Robbie knew! The little elf was also nicer than anyone he knew. Robbie sat down on the wall to catch his breath. He'd been it fourteen times already, only because Sportacus was so much faster than he was, and he was WIPED. "Hey, flippy-pants, I'm tired. Let's sit down for a while."

Sportacus laughed and leaped to Robbie's side, leaning back on the wall. "Robbie, where do you live?"

Robbie frowned. "I live in a place called Lazytown, that kinda looks like this town." He sighed. "There's a lot of kids there, but I never play with them."

Sporty gave him a funny look. "Why not?"

"Well, because they don't like me." Robbie pulled his legs in to his chest and sniffled lightly. Sportacus thought for a minute, then pulled Robbie in for a hug, catching the taller boy completely off-guard.

"I like you, Robbie…" He smiled. "As long as I'm here, you won't be lonely, ok?" His companion nodded happily and hugged back. They stayed that way for a while, and then Robbie made a move to get up. Sportacus stayed put, eyes closed, and snoring lightly. Robbie gaped at his friend, then giggled, patting the little elf's head before leaning back and falling asleep himself.

That's how their adult counterparts found them.

----

A/N: REALLY short, I know, but I've been busy and my writer's block won't go away.


	5. Chapter 5

"This is incredibly bad."

Robbie stared down at the sleeping figure of his past self, arms entwined with those of his enemy's past self, and wanted to throw up. It was impossible. He HATED Sportacus!! He hated him since the first time he SAW him!! And yet, there they were, future enemies, asleep in each other's arms.

FRIENDS.

Sportacus was smiling down on them. "Well Robbie," he said, putting a muscled arm around the taller man' shoulders, "I'm glad that we CAN be friends. Even if it IS in the past."

Robbie pulled away from him angrily. "Can it, Sportakook! Don't you understand how BAD this is?!" He scowled. "We're ENEMIES. On top of that, we weren't supposed to meet for another twenty years or so! This has severely messed up BOTH of our lives!" He looked at the little boys again. Sporty yawned sleepily and turned over. Robbie shook his head. Unbelievable.

Sportacus frowned sadly. "Robbie, I've always told you that I wanted to be your friend. Why, exactly, is this such a bad thing?" Robbie looked away.

"Why on earth would you wanna be friends with ME, of all people?" Robbie practically spat the words out. "You've got Stephanie and everyone else. They're wonderful and bright and happy, just like YOU. Me?" he laughed. "I'm ROTTEN."

"That's not true, Robbie." Sportacus approached him slowly. "You may think you're rotten, but I know that you are a wonderful person. You just don't believe in yourself." He patted Robbie's shoulder. "But I believe in you, Robbie."

Robbie just shook his head. "Shut up and help me carry them back to my house, alright?" He turned and pried the little elf away from his companion, and trudged off towards the billboard.

Sportacus just smiled after him and followed, little Robbie tucked carefully in his strong arms.

----

Sportacus's eyelids fluttered open, and he yawned. How long had he been asleep? He looked around for his friend, and realized that they were no longer in the field, but back at Big Robbie's house. Spotting the little Rotten on a bed not too far away from him, Sporty got up and made his way over to him.

"Good morning!"

Sportacus jumped. He didn't recognize that voice, but in a way, it seemed familiar. He turned slowly to face the unknown person. He was a very tall, muscular man, and very obviously elfin. Sportacus narrowed his eyes. There was something VERY familiar about the man, but he couldn't put his finger on it, until he noticed the number ten emblazoned on his chest…

His eyes widened.

"E-Excuse me, sir?" His heart froze. It couldn't be, it just COULND'T be… "Wh-What is your name?"

The man smiled. "We have the same name, little one. You and I are the same person."

Sportacus stumbled backwards, aghast. "No…. Robbie promised I WOULDN'T be number ten!!" He started tearing up. "He PROMISED!!"

Older Sportacus smiled sadly. "I know he did, but you must understand, it was NOT his decision."

"Whose WAS it, then?!"

"It was our own, little one." Little Sportacus looked up at him, shocked.

"What? But…I don't WANT to be number Ten. I never HAVE. Why would I---" he sniffled loudly. "Why would I choose that?"

The man kneeled down and put a hand on his shoulder. "Someday, something will happen to you, and you'll change your mind about saving people. On that day, you will become Íþróttaálfurinn."

Sportacus looked up at him. "When? How will I know?"

"You'll know."

----

The days turned into a week, and all the citizens of Lazytown waited impatiently for Pixel to fix the stubborn time machine. Try as he might, Robbie couldn't separate the two boys, who grew closer with every day that passed. He also couldn't convince anyone but himself that it was a BAD thing.

Stephanie loved playing with the young versions of Sportacus and Robbie, and was very surprised with how polite Robbie was in particular. She looked over at them and smiled. Sporty was currently trying to convince a very reluctant Robbie to race him to the top of the climbing tree.

"Come on Robbie! You're not SCARED, are you?"

"Course not!" Robbie said indignantly. "I just…don't want to get my clothes dirty, that's all."

Sportacus laughed. "You won't get your clothes dirty, now come ON!" He jumped nimbly up onto the closest branch and started climbing. Robbie, after a while, followed suit, and the two of them raced to the top.

Stephanie frowned. "Careful you guys! Don't fall!!" They just waved at her, and started back down the other side, out of Stephanie's view.

A sickening crack split the air, and a scream followed.

Stephanie's heart sank, and she darted around the other side. Robbie had misstepped, and was dangling precariously from the broken branch, 30 feet in the air. Sportacus, who had reached the bottom already, stared up in terror at his friend. "What do we do!?" He asked frantically. "WHAT DO WE DO!?"

Stephanie turned and ran towards town. "We need Sportacus!! You stay here with Robbie, I'll go get him!"

"Robbie can't hold on that long!!" Sporty paced back and forth nervously, shooting looks up at his friend, who was crying for help. What could he do!? Sportacus couldn't wait for his older self; Robbie would surely fall before then!! He couldn't climb up to get him; He wasn't strong enough to climb back down while carrying him. In frustration, he hit his head against the tree trunk. "Pabbi, what do I do?" Tears streaked down his cheeks. A sharp scream from Robbie, and another crack, alerted that time was short. Any minute now, the branch would give out and Robbie would fall to his death. Sportacus held his head. What could he DO!?

Robbie needed to be saved.

HE needed to save him.

A warm, white light glowed from his pocket. He reached in, and pulled out his Pabbi's crystal. It was blinking slowly. Sportacus stared at it, confused. It had never done that for him before! He looked from the crystal, to Robbie, and back again. Suddenly, he knew what to do. Getting right under Robbie, he cried up, "Robbie!! Let go of the branch!"

"ARE YOU NUTS?! I'LL FALL!!"

"Don't worry, I'll catch you!!" Silently, Sportacus prayed that he'd be able to save him. "You have to trust me Robbie, I WON'T let you fall!!" Robbie hesitated for a few seconds, then let go, screaming all the way down. Sportacus reached up, and caught him just in time, knocking the both of them to the ground; Bruised, but definitely alive. Robbie clung to his middle, sobbing hysterically.

"Y-You saved my l-life, Sportacus…"

Sportacus paused.

He DID…. He saved someone….

Stephanie ran back, the grown-up Sportacus and Robbie following closely behind. Little Sportacus calmly explained what happened, a smile on his face. Stephanie noticed that something had changed about her little friend, something significant. He was no longer the rude, hyper little elf he was when he arrived. He had grown up a little.

Suddenly, he looked like the hero he'd someday become.

----

Finally, the time machine was finished.

Pixel set the coordinates for twenty years in the past, roughly where little Robbie had come from, and looked over at the others. The entire town had turned out for their return home, and all eyes were on the two small boys. Pixel sighed quietly. As much as he knew that keeping them together would mess the timeline up more than it already was, he couldn't help but feel sorry for breaking up the friendship. Little Robbie was clinging to the little elf tightly, sobbing hysterically. Sportacus was stroking his friend's hair gently, apparently trying to reassure him. It was a very unusual, yet touching scene.

"But Sportacus, I don't wanna leave you!" The younger boy wiped his reddened eyes furiously, and took a deep breath. "What if we never see each other again?"

The elf smiled. "Robbie, we already know that we'll see each other again. It won't be for a long time, but we'll be together again." He took Robbie's hand. "I promise." Robbie sniffled slightly, but nodded in agreement, and both looked over at their adult selves, smiling. Sportacus nodded slightly. "Ok, we're ready now".

Pixel took the little Rotten's hand, who gave a last, sad backwards look at Sportacus, and helped him gently through the portal. The portal cracked and fizzled, sending sparks through the air, and then he was gone. Sportacus looked hesitantly at it, then up at himself. "You were right, you know."

The older elf smiled. "How so?"

The boy looked down thoughtfully. "Well, Robbie needed me, and I saved him. I've never felt so alive than when I kept him safe from harm." He frowned slightly. "But…. But these people… the people of Lazytown… well, they'll need me someday, won't they?" Sportacus nodded, and the boy continued, "I guess… I never stopped to think about how important I was to other people, just how much they would need me." He smiled. "I think I'm ready for it."

The older elf stood speechless for a while, then knelt down and hugged his younger self gently. "Look at you," he said, smoothing out the boy's hair gently. "No longer a boy. You've grown up."

Sportacus smiled, and walked towards the time machine, head up and a confident smile on his face. He waved vigorously at a very stunned Robbie. "Bye Robbie!! I'll see you in the future!!" He then turned to Stephanie, and hugged her. "Farewell, Stephanie." He sniffled slightly, and she hugged tighter.

"Don't worry, Sportacus." She kissed his forehead and smiled. "After all, it's not really goodbye." Nodding, the little elf walked through the portal, towards home. The machine sputtered, the image of the boy fading away until there was nothing left.

-----

"I don't get it."

"Don't get what, Robbie?"

Robbie frowned. "After all my work to get rid of you, after all my plans to get you to leave, it was my fault that you became a hero?" He sighed. "Talk about ironic."

Sportacus laughed and put an arm around his shoulder. All the rest of the town had returned to their homes, but they had remained, staring off into the growing shadow of nighttime together. Sportacus sighed. "How do we know if we changed at all? I feel like everything worked out."

Robbie stuck his tongue out defiantly. "Well, I don't care what you think, I didn't change. I STILL want you out of Lazytown."

His foe laughed again. "And I didn't change either." Sportacus smiled at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I still want to be your friend, Robbie."

"….. Oh…… ok."

------

THE END


End file.
